Green Magpie

Latest posts by Green Magpie

An alternative is to use cardboard tubes (toilet roll, kitchen roll) packed with seed compost. Then when it's time for them to go out, you can just put the whole tube in the ground, without disturbing the roots, as the cardboard will break down in the soil.

According to a clipping I have from GW magazine, by this time of year they've done their worst, and you may as well wait until the spring before spraying. But I'd keep an eye on them - I have just noticed some damage to my (enormous) viburnum and am watching it carefully.

It's not the weight, it's the thickness that might be the problem. If you were posting, say, beans or pea seeds, the envelope might be too thick to go by normal letter rate and would need to be a "large letter". Otherwise, most small seed packets would be fine, as long as they're spread out (see Berghill's post above).

Just a follow-up thought: as a basic, easy-to-follow book, it's hard to beat the Vegetable and Herb Expert, in the Dr Hessayon series. This sets out all the times, spacings etc for each crop. I even have a spare copy in the shed, I use It so much!

The leaves are pretty tough and will have to be cut back at some stage, but you may as well leave them a while if they look OK. The corms stay happily in the ground over the winter - a bit too happily in some cases, as some varieties are quite invasive!